At the end of last week, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., hosted a roundtable with key law enforcement officers across Florida’s 16th District to discuss the disturbing rise in crime nationwide and increased threats to police and other first responders.
“Our brave law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every single day to help those in harm’s way,” said Buchanan. “They need to know that we have their backs. As crime skyrockets across the country, today’s roundtable was important to hear directly from our frontline heroes about what they are seeing in our community as well as nationwide and learn what more we can do to support them and combat this disturbing trend.”
Buchanan was joined by:
- Col. Brian Woodring, Chief Deputy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office
- Major Pat Cassella, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
- Chief Melanie Bevin, Bradenton Police Department
- Chief Scott Tyler, Palmetto Police Department
- Deputy Chief Rex Troche, Sarasota Police Department
- Capt. Scott Mayforth, Sarasota Police Department
- Chief George Turner, Longboat Key Police Department
- Lt. Richard Hankins, Longboat Key Police Department
- Vaden Pollard, Regional Director for the Fort Meyers Operations Center with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
“To bring in all of the chiefs and majors from the area and have a roundtable to discuss some of the challenges is amazing.” Troche also said the benefit of the roundtable is local law enforcement being able to “build on our relationships and our communication and then hopefully formulate a plan together moving forward,” Troche said.
During the discussion, Buchanan advocated for legislation he has introduced in Congress to toughen penalties against anyone who intentionally targets or murders police officers and other first responders. Buchanan’s “Thin Blue Line Act,” which passed the House with bipartisan support during the 115th Congress, would make the murder or attempted murder of a police officer or other first responders an “aggravating” factor in death penalty determinations. This legislation has been endorsed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the National Association of Police Organizations.
According to the National Fraternal Order of Police, 346 police officers were shot in the line of duty in 2021, 73 of whom were killed. This represents a 28 percent increase over 2020. Ambush-style attacks against officers were up over 125 percent in 2021 compared to 2020.
Bevan said the Thin Blue Line Act “shows incredible support of local law enforcement locally.”
Buchanan also raised concerns about fentanyl and other deadly drugs flooding into our country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a 1.066% increase in fentanyl seized at the southern border in 2021.
To help law enforcement combat the fentanyl crisis, Buchanan introduced the bipartisan “Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting (FIGHT) Fentanyl Act” to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs. The FIGHT Fentanyl Act would allow federal law enforcement to bring criminal actions against individuals who manufacture, distribute or handle fentanyl-related substances. This legislation has been endorsed by Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells, Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Attorney General Moody and First Step of Sarasota, a leading mental health and substance abuse nonprofit.
Last September, Buchanan presented 61 awards to law enforcement officers and departments in Manatee, Sarasota and Hillsborough Counties for exception achievement. The winners of Buchanan’s Congressional District Law Enforcement Awards were selected by an independent panel of current and retired law enforcement.
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